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hello i have just mostly completed my first case mod. i thought it turned out well for a amateur such as myself but im quite pleased with the results. if i do this post right there should be pics, please excuse my poor old digicam cuz it lacks something when taking this kind of picture.


you should be now looking at the front of the case where it has a cool blue smiley mouth, a temp guage and a nice red switch for the cold cathode. the temp guage is a compu nurse showing the cpu running at a nice cool 43.6c. the blue smiley is part of the case front lit with 1 12v super bright blue led. and the red switch is a common lighted automotive switch. Pic2



now you should be seeing a large window with a 3 led fan and a less impressive 2 led variable speed fan. the mobo wires are covered nicley with some black wire loom from the local autoparts store and the drive wires are covered with some clear poly hose from the hard ware store. not bad for a newbie, eh?

I Like it! I'm really impressed with the clear hose you used for the power wires, and I like the smiley face to. Might use the clear hose in my first case mod! Great Job!! eGo

Hey, do I see room for a zip drive in there? First rule of custom case design - fill all the slots with something! Ok, I'm just kidding. Your system looks pretty good. Does that automotive light glow too bright? Maybe you could put a power resistor in series with the light to lower the voltage a bit.

What's controlling the fan speeds? A Rheostat bus would enable you to slow them down when full speed isn't required (as when you are just browsing the Internet). I'm not sure if the Compu Nurse actually controls fan devices. I've put a Rheostat bus in each of my last 4 system builds, but in my next project, I think I'll just use that new Vantec Nexus NXP 101 Multi-function Panel (I got one about 3 weeks ago - it looks real nice) and 4 of the Vantec Stealth 80mm fans in my 2nd CoolerMaster ATC-710 case. If your fans don't make much noise, then there's no need to control their voltage (speed). If they are loud though, you do want a fan control device.*&

the window fan has a thermaresistor controlling it and the other 3 are standard 2500 rpm fans so they dont make much noise. the camera made all the lights look too bright, in reality its a pleasant blue glow. the space you see could house a zip drive but i got my excess wires stuffed in it ) the red switch is not that bright eithier, my camera sux, but its all i got lol

Tha's pimpin, keep up the good work

Added tri color antec rear fan, window fan on/off toggle, more hose. lighted case badge. lighted the lower smiley thingy. put the cold cathode in line with the rest of the switches. the case badge light is not one of those things you buy, i made it from 2 scalpel covers(light spreader) 1 white led (from pugsley) and some tinfoil for a reflective backing.

New picture added to the post above this one and updated description.

How do you light up the case badge like that? You use an LED or something?

Very nice job, looks good.

I was wondering what you were going to do with that. Looks good. Just so you know... I have about 95 UV leds. ill let em go for .50 each.

What voltage LEDs? 12 volt or 5 volt? Do they require inline resistors to limit the current?

no.. 2.5 i think. i dont have the ratings on them.. guess ill have to blow a few up and find out. i know they arent 5V.. so im gonna say 3V @20mA. Get resistor values HERE.